Wilson was imprisoned in the John R. Lindsey State Jail, in Jacksboro, Texas, for six months in 1967 and 1968 on a conviction of possession of cocaine. Upon his release he moved to Paris, France.[3]

From 1967 onwards he raised his family and worked in Fort Worth during the day as a school janitor. At night, Wilson performed as a sideman in local nightclubs.[3] By the late 1970s, Wilson and Ealey played at a Fort Worth club named the New Bluebird, where they attracted crowds of Texas blues fans. By 1987, Wilson had begun solo recording and touring around Texas.[2] However, he rejoined Ealey in his new band, the Lovers, the following year.[3]

The music journalist Tony Russell noted that Wilson put on a show, playing one-handed while drinking, smoking and greeting his fans, but behind the tricks and the hyped language used in his billings ("Texas Tornado", "Atomic Guitar", etc.) Wilson was a musician with a talent for more than just getting boys to boogie down. His peculiar decision to sing in falsetto flawed his 1995 release This Is U.P. Wilson, but subsequent releases led to the rediscovery of his blend of Texas shuffles and low-down blues.[4]